ABSTRACT
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on August 10, 1967 when the Presidium Minister for Political Affairs/Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand signed the ASEAN Declaration or the Bangkok Declaration. The intention was to promote among its member countries economic growth, social and cultural development, regional peace and stability, and joint collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in various fields such as economic, social, technical, administrative, and educational. In the declaration, the aim to promote Southeast Asian studies was explicit. The peoples of ASEAN member countries should learn of each other’s political, economic, and cultural development and settings in order to have a better understanding of one another. This is key to fostering closer regional cooperation. Knowledge of ASEAN member countries alone, however, may not be sufficient to achieve this goal. Since states’ foreign policies shape and are shaped by ASEAN, and since the transition from a loose association of ten countries to a tighter community since 2015 means that ASEAN will be playing a greater role, knowledge of ASEAN as an institution, its dynamic, structure, limitations, and relations with other entities becomes imperative.
